Without India, minister fears the worst for Lankan Premier League
NEW DELHI: The BCCI's suspicions over Lalit Modi's involvement in the Sri Lankan Premier League (SLPL) and its reluctance to allow its own players to participate could even lead to the cancellation of the entire event, Lankan sports minister Mahidananda Aluthgamage told TOI on Thursday.

Aluthgamage went on to add that the absence of Indian cricketers could cripple the league financially and force it to be conducted only at the local level unless more foreign players from other countries are roped in.

While denying that Lalit Modi was involved in any way with the event, Aluthgamage said, "We completely understand the concerns of BCCI. They are the ones who are against Modi and if they are claiming he is a part of the league, we can't do anything else. After Thursday's conversations with BCCI, Sri Lanka Cricket officials will not travel to India.

"The Indian board told us they couldn't send their players for SLPL because they felt Modi is involved in this event. The BCCI also said that Modi is the third party and is working behind the scenes. Right now we are left with two options.

Either we replace the Indians with more foreign cricketers from England, New Zealand, Australia and Pakistan or else scrap the league completely."

The minister also hinted that the tournament could be played only at the local level.